Ice Cream Waste Being Used To Power UK Homes

Ice cream’s gone green this week (July 18th) and we’re not talking about peppermint choc chip. A new partnership between resource management company Velia, Iona Capital and R&R Ice Cream is seeing the inedible waste left over after production line cleansing being turned into biogas for the National Grid.

The sludge that is left behind after the production of ice cream (consisting of sugar, fat and protein) is now being turned into biomethane, which will then be sent to the National Grid via an anaerobic digestion facility that is being operated by Veolia and funded by Iona Capital in order to heat homes around the UK.

Interestingly, different flavours seem to be able to provide more energy than others. For example, chocolate ice cream provides ten per cent more energy than vanilla, as well as 20 per cent more than strawberry. Adding a chocolate flake to it could see the energy efficiency boosted by 20 per cent.

Noting that it is innovation of this kind that the UK needs in order for the government to hit its 2020 targets, senior executive vice-president of Veolia UK & Ireland said Estelle Brachlianoff said: “This summer will see the UK’s energy mix take on a new flavour and a delicious one at that. And now you can enjoy your ice cream even more because, rest assured, none of production by-product is going to waste, as we are busy creating renewable energy with it.”

Similarly, in May Veolia found that human sewage could actually power more than half a million homes in the UK. Currently, more than 11 billion litres is produced in the UK every day and with advances being made in anaerobic digestion electricity demand could be met in this way to relieve pressure on the National Grid.